2019-07-01_Computer_Music

NativeInstruments’newtwo-stronglineof

entrylevelaudiointerfaces(theeight-year-

oldKompleteAudio6 can’treallybeconsidered

partofthesamerange)isaimedsquarelyat

newcomerstomusicproductionandrecording.

TheKompleteAudio1 andKompleteAudio 2

areboth2-in/4-outbus-poweredUSB2.0boxes,

differingonlyinthenatureofthoseinsandouts.

Madeentirelyofblackplastic,they’re

aestheticallystyledtositalongsideNI’slatest

MaschineandKompleteKontrolhardware,with

thereflectivehalvesoftheirtoppanelshousing

LEDsfortwoinputladdermeters,USB

connectionand48Vphantompower,andthe

matthalvesplayinghosttobigoutputvolume

knobs.Theybothweighjust360g,andmeasure

140mmwideand52mmhigh,buttheKomplete

Audio1 istheslightlydeeperofthetwoat

117.5mmversus112mm.Insummary,both

KompleteAudioslookfab,andfeelreassuringly

solidyetconvenientlylight.

Thesamebutdifferent

EachKompleteAudiointerfacehasa single

stereoheadphonesoutputandtwomainouts.

WiththeKompleteAudio1, thelatterareonRCA

phonos– appropriateforDJmixersand

domestic/low-endsystems– whiletheKomplete

Audio2 putsthemon1/4"jacks,forserving

professionalstudiomonitorsandthelike.The

bigknobontopcontrolsthemainoutlevel,and

theheadphonesgettheirownvolumecontrol

onthefrontpanel.

Bothinterfacescanaccepttwosimultaneous

channelsofinput,withseparateGainknobsfor

each.WiththeKompleteAudio1, oneinputison

anXLRwithoptional48Vphantompower,and

theotherisona 1/4"jack,switchablebetween

lineandinstrumentlevel.Idealforrecordinga

guitaranda vocalmicatthesametime.

TheKompleteAudio2 rampsupthe

versatilityconsiderably,withtwocombiXLR/

jackinputs,bothphantompoweredand

independentlyswitchablebetweeninstrument

andlinelevels.Capturetwomics,orbassand

guitar,ortheleftandrightoutsofa synth,etc.

LatenciesareinlinewithUSB2.0

expectations,from7.55msroundtripat44.1kHz

witha 32-samplebuffer,to51.8msat 1024

samples.Directmonitoringissupportedbyboth

interfaces,soyoucanhearyourselfsingand/or

playdirectlythroughthehardwarewithno

latency(orplugineffects,ofcourse),beforethe

signalreachesthecomputer.Thedirectsignalis

blendedwiththeDAWsignalusingtheInput/

Hostmixknob,butunhelpfully,it onlyappears

attheheadphoneoutput,notthemainouts.

Verystrangeandcertainlynotideal.

Kompletepackage

Theinabilitytousedirectmonitoringthrough

themainoutsisa definitepointofnotefor

anyoneconsideringeitherKompleteAudio

interface,andcouldwellbea dealbreakerfor

some,unfortunately.

Assumingyoucanlivewiththat,though,it’s

gottobesaidthatthecombinationofthesmall

pricetags,highaudioqualityandimpressive

softwarebundlemakebothofNI’sdiminutive

boxesverysolidofferingsforthefledgling

singer-songwriterorelectronicproducerwho’s

lookingtobuythemselvestheirfirstaudio

interface.Theyalsomakeeminentlyportable

mobilerecordingsystemsforthemore

experienceduser.

Webnative-instruments.com

Native Instrume

Komplete

£79/109

Differing onlyin the specificationoftheirinputs and outputs, one of

these two audiointerfacesshouldsatisfyyourbasic recording needs

Verdict

ForVerysmallandlight

Greatsoundquality

Recordingatupto192kHz

Attractivedesignandfinish

Goodsoftwarebundle

AgainstDirectmonitoringto

headphonesonly

Everythingthemusicproductionnovice

needstogetstarted,anda veryviable

mobilesolutionforlaptoprecording

8/10

Alternatively

FocusriteScarlett2i2

181 » 9/10 » £130

Identical in spec to the Komplete

Audio 2 but with a better direct

monitoring setup

Steinberg UR22 MkII

NA » NA » £111

Also very similar to the Komplete

Audio 2, but with the addition of

5-pin DIN MIDI I/O

BothKompleteAudiosshipswiththesame

sizeablecollectionofbundledsoftware.

AbletonLive 10 Liteisa cut-downversion

ofAbleton’subiquitousDAW,witheightaudio

andMIDItracks,anda healthyselectionof

instrument,audioeffectandMIDIeffect

devices.Italsooffersthevastmajorityofthe

fullLive 10 experienceintermsoffeatures

andworkflow.

TherestofthebundlecomesfromNI

themselves.Monarkisa Minimoogemulation

(8/10, 191) that serves as the perfect

introduction to virtual analogue synthesis;

while Maschine Essentials is the full Maschine

software with a reduced sound library.

Komplete Start comprises 15 Kontakt Player

and Reaktor Player instruments, as well as

the Supercharger compressor and Guitar Rig

5 Player effects plugins.

Last but not least, you also get two months

of Sounds.com access and £22 to spend in the

NI Online Shop.

Bundle of fun

92 / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2019

reviews / native instruments kompleete audio 1 and 2